In today's
completive environment refiners no longer
have the luxury of making large capital
investments to implement "brute force"
solutions to unit limitations. Phibro
Energy, Inc., Houston, instituted a
step-by-step revamp approach to increase the
capacity of the UDEX Unit at the Houston
Refinery. This scheme achieved a more than
20% capacity expansion with minimal
investment.

Changes in the
reformulated gasoline and petrochemical
markets enhanced the attractiveness of
aromatics production. These changes prompted
Phibro Energy to increase the capacity of
the "C" Udex Unit and enhance its product
quality.

Initially, the
proposed revamp project proposed switching
solvent to meet new production targets. This
project was cancelled because of licensing
fees and solvent cost involved.

After a detailed
study, a low capital staged investment
approach was chosen to meet project
objectives. This approach has already
increased capacity from 4900 bpd to 5900 bpd
with minimal investment. Future work items
that will allow additional capacity have
been identified.